Jesus once talked with a man named Nicodemus at night. Nicodemus was a teacher, but he still had questions. Jesus gave him the shortest, biggest answer in the whole Bible: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son."
Think about those first words. God so loved the world. Not just the clever kids. Not just the kids who draw neatly. The world means everybody. It means Wei Ming with his six-legged dinosaur. It means Dinesh on the end of the bench. It means you.
And God did not just say it. God gave. He gave Jesus, His one and only Son, because love gives.
When Dinesh walked down that bench, he did a small thing that looked like God's big thing. He moved toward someone who felt alone. That is what God's love does. It comes close.
You do not have to be big or clever to share it. You can sit beside someone today.
🐑Jesus Loves Children
Jesus Loves the Whole World
God gave us Jesus because He loves us.
November 7, 20262 min readNIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 (NIV)
Jesus teaches Nicodemus
Today's Story
✍️Fictitious Story
Dinesh sat on the end of the bench at lunch with his comics and his orange-sized rubber-band ball. Emma Yeo sat beside him, drawing a new page of their invisibility comic. Down the table, a boy named Wei Ming was crying softly. Someone had laughed at his drawing of a dinosaur.
Dinesh looked at Emma. Emma looked back. Nobody else moved.
Dinesh picked up his tray and walked down the bench. He sat next to Wei Ming. "Can I see your dinosaur?" he asked.
Wei Ming held out the paper. The dinosaur had six legs.
"Six legs is better," Dinesh said. "It runs faster."
Wei Ming wiped his face and almost smiled. Then Dinesh opened his workbook and drew a small dinosaur in the margin, right next to Wei Ming's name. Emma came over with her pencil and drew a second one.
Nobody was invisible at that bench anymore.
Reflection
Think About It
• Who around you might feel like nobody sees them? • How could you sit beside that person this week?
Prayer
Jesus, God loved the world and gave You. Jesus, You love me. Jesus, You love me. Help me love somebody today the way You love me. Amen.
Live It Out
Sing or say "Jesus loves me" today with someone you love.